Apparatus

Fire Engines
The Aurora Fire Department vehicles bring equipment for firefighting, extraction and rescue, and EMS to be used by our highly trained and proficient firefighters / EMT / Paramedics at an incident.

Fire engines are equipped with a pump capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water per minute and a tank holding 750-1,000 gallons of water. They also carry a wide range of simple to complex tools and equipment. Hose, ladders, axes, fire extinguishers, supplemental lighting, and fans are examples of simple tools of the trade. Examples of more complex equipment carried on the fire trucks are hydraulic extrication spreaders / cutters / rams, air bags for lifting heavy items up to 32 tons, and AFFF foam system to aid in extinguishing alcohol and petroleum-based fires.

Highly sophisticated and expensive multi-gas monitors and thermal imaging cameras capable of locating people in thick smoke and locating hidden fire in walls can easily bring the cost of an equipped fire engine to $500,000. These trucks are expected to be in service for more than 20 years from time of purchase. Aurora’s Fire Engine Inventory include:
Engine 1

2004 Emergency 1 Pumper

750 gallon water tank able to pump 1,500 gallons per minute

Located at Station 1

Engine 2

1999 Emergency 1 Pumper

1,000 gallon water tank able to pump 1,500 gallons per minute

Located at Station 2

Engine 3

1988 Emergency 1 Pumper

1,000 gallon water tank able to pump 1,500 gallons per minute

Located at Station 1

Ladder Trucks
Ladder 1 is a 1986 Emergency 1, 95-foot Aerial Platform, refurbished in 2009, pumping 1,500 gallons per minute and located at Station 1.

Ladder Trucks are similarly equipped but have 7 ground ladders ranging from 14 to 39 feet and the 95-foot aerial platform capable of making rescues at heights and applying water from high angles. This ladder truck is called a Quint because it is a combination pumper and ladder. The ladder truck’s gross equipped weight is around 65,000 pounds and would cost almost $1 million today.

Rescue Squads
Aurora has 3 advanced life support medical units (Rescue Squads). They are all equally equipped with very sophisticated heart monitors capable of 12-lead monitoring and diagnosis that enable our paramedics to transmit rhythm strips to the receiving hospital. This allows them to begin heart muscle saving intervention immediately upon our arrival in their emergency department, or Cath Lab. The monitors also help the paramedics identify arrhythmias, allowing the paramedics to administer lifesaving intravenous medications or even externally pace the heart.

Many other lifesaving medications, monitors and equipment are also at their disposal to treat a wide variety of sudden or chronic illnesses such as:

Anaphylaxis

Angina

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Diabetes

Heart attack

Heart failure

Stroke (brain attack)

Trauma

An advanced support med unit fully equipped with lifesaving equipment costs about $200,000 and has a useful life of approximately 10 years. Aurora’s Rescue Squad inventory:
Squad 1